He's back.....in Iraq...

So Larry (my brother), is back in Iraq for his 2nd tour until May. Keep him in your thoughts & prayers.

Also send him mental messages to call his mom and sister. Since he doesn't read my blog..hardly ever. lol

Two sides to every story?

I tend to see things in black and white, to come down on one side or the other of an issue, problem, argument, etc., rather quickly. And then I'll read something or somebody will say something that shows me a different side of things.

I made up my mind pretty quickly about Roman Polanski, especially after reading excerpts from the questioning of the child/teenager. And I have yet to find the other side.

I've been hearing that lots of people, many of them in the movie industry, are defending Polanski. I guess the crux of their argument is not so much that what happened was ok, but that it happened a long time ago, and that he is a genius director, etc. I did enjoy The Pianist. But that doesn't help me to see the other side of this issue. And it's not because I hated Rosemary's Baby.

Thirteen. Several types of unwanted intercourse. Quaalude. Champagne.

To me these things just outweigh any defense Polanski, or Whoopi, or Half Pint, or Debra Winger (seriously?) can muster up.

Including genius. Scapegoat. Victim. It wasn't "rape-rape." Statutory (this was not an 18 year-old having sex with his 16 year-old girlfriend, which is what I think about when I hear "statutory).

Can anybody help me see Polanski's side? I know it can't be black and white, but I'm really having a hard time with it.....

Nothing worth having comes easy..

I went to ODU today to pay a nearly 8 y.o. parking fine. The counter lady (looked at me rather puzzled) could not even find the ticket in the system at first. With raised eyebrows - she looked and asked why now? I looked at my feet and put the words into motion that have laid dormant for the past 3 years: "I, uhm, I'm thinking of coming back to school and I can't register without my transcripts - which have this hold on them from way back when I graduated."

I'm broke, I'm a little scared - but I probably haven't smiled this big with possibility of it all in a long time. When your diploma falls off the wall and hits you in the head - you listen. Right?

Finally a new exhibit

At the Virginia Aquarium! No offense to the sea turtles, but I was getting bored.

I wish..

I could wear these boots everyday.
That's all.

On unsolicited advice...

I found this interesting life advice in my internet meanderings this morning. I thought it was very relevant to the past few weeks (at least for me).

"Everyone is taking their own journey through life, and that's liberating -- but it can also be isolating, because no one else can truly understand what you are experiencing. Take this fact to heart when those 'in the know' offer you unsolicited advice today. They have your best interest at heart, but in the end their thoughts are based on their own goals -- not yours. Stick to what you feel. This is no time to start navigating by someone else's maps -- you could get lost."

The only sane thing to do....

after running a half marathon, is obviously to sign up for another. :)

So this past Sunday, I woke up at 4AM, rode down to VB, parked and waited in line to run 13 miles with 30,000 some other crazies. I run all the time so I was confident about conditioning. I was not quite so confident about my knees which have been known to swell and crap out in recent years. "Helloooooo Leslie welcome to 30's!" they chant. (They also conveniently forecast rain, by aching painfully and dully before the rain starts.)

The good: As I said before, I run all the time; usually with only the company of my trusty Ipod. Running with an army of other people (all ages, shapes, and sizes) is extremely motivational. Having twice that many cheering for you while you run makes you feel sorta like a rock star (a sweaty, dirty, fannypack wearing type of rockstar). Having rastafari spray you with a waterhose while singing "Jammin" and "Could You be Loved" is really cool, and having random neighborhood ladies hand you beer while running is ever coolER.

The bad: You need to STAY hydrated and as a human; what goes in, must come out. Portable toilets are gross. Using them in general is traumatic, but trying to use them in a race AND trying to hurry - well use your imagination.

The ugly: My knees on Sunday were the winsome knees of a 23 year old. My feet, however; are blistered, swollen, and sore. I've been crawling up and down my steps on all-fours, "Gollum" style the past three days to commute back and forth between my room and my kitchen.

Will I do it again? Yeah..I think so.

People Look at You Weird When You Have a Black Eye

I had an "accident" last Saturday night that left me with a black eye. I can't help but notice that people act a little weird when I go into their store, dry cleaners, or Starbucks. I feel like a second class citizen or something. It's like they don't want to look me in the eye, like they are afraid I will flip out on them.

The worst part is having an explanation, but never being asked for it. I can only assume the things people are conjuring up in their minds...bar fight? Domestic abuse?

Oh well. Maybe I should just stay in my house!

Adventures in squirrel catching

We have a fireplace in our living room that we don't use. We bought one of those electronic insert things with the fake logs and fake fire to warm the place in the winter because there is a draft when the weather is cold. The insert doesn't block the whole fireplace, so we have a piece of wood on the right side that blocks most of the remaining gap. If it sounds ghetto, well, it is.

Yesterday I was sitting on the couch feeding Kai and I heard a "swoosh" sound and then a thunk in my fireplace. Shortie and the cats went over to investigate. I thought it was a bird because we found a dead one in there once.

All the sudden I heard something scrambling about and making some kind of primal growl/screech. And then through the small gap between the wood and the insert, a paw came out swiping!

It was a freaking squirrel!! Shortie would not stay away and the poor squirrel was getting really pissed off. Fairfax County sent out an officer and we spent 10 minutes trying to get it into a trap, but the squirrel wasn't having it.

We ended up taking out the fireplace insert and bam! The squirrel came flying out and headed toward the dining room. Shortie took off after it like a dog half his age. The squirrel ran a few laps around the dining room while the cop yelled at me to open the front door.

The squirrel made a final lap and headed toward the door. He jumped up onto the landing and Shortie jumped, trying to catch it in mid-air. He was thisclose, but luckily he missed.

The squirrel headed out the front door, followed by the nice lady officer.

Shortie spent the night peering into the fireplace and looking around the living room for the squirrel. He wanted to eat it!

Squirrels are so cute. But it is a little freaky to have one running around your house.

The Infrequent Visitors Guide to the Greater Metropolitan D.C. area.

Many of VA's rest areas are now closed so you'll need to find quality gas station restrooms, like this one on the outside in Fredericksburg.

If visiting our nation's capital on the weekend, it's not only important to Google optimal restaurant locations but their HOURS as well. FYI: Everything closes at 5..on Saturday!

Some buildings in D.C. have 99 problems but central air isn't 1.


If you take too many pictures of yourself, the girl sitting to the right (behind me) will kill you.
Look at her murderous eyes.



And finally, Sunshine is a FANTASTIC tour guide and terrific hostess - but a terrible ticket scalper. (You don't give them away for FREE!) LOL